May Stuff

 

Whitethroat

 

Two short visits to Orcombe today - pre-work at 0530 and post-work around 4'ish. Totals included 87+ Black-headed Gull offshore, 1 Common Scoter, 2 Great Crested Grebe, 5 Sandwich Tern, 17+ Dunlin and 1 Turnstone. Passerine migrants included 6+ Wheatear, 1 female Redstart, 1 Reed Warbler and, rather belatedly, my first Whinchat of the year.

A Dark-bellied Brent Goose was in the estuary and my first Swift of the year powered over, into a cool north-easterly, whilst Joel and I were having a kick-about in Carter park.

Yesterday my dawn visit to Orcombe produced my second Exmouth Cirl Bunting of the year - picked up on call as it flew low east along the cliff-top. I also recorded 2 Great Northern Diver (high west) and 1 Whimbrel.

Later in the afternoon I picked up a dark phase Arctic Skua lingering off the lifeboat station and there was a flock of c15+ Dunlin on Maer Rocks - possibly the same birds that were present again this afternoon.

Female Redstart - frequenting the track down to the Bristol Schools camp and adjacent hedgerows.

Whinchat - on the dung heap tonight with 5 Wheatear and a Rock Pipit

Rock Pipit - the dung heap has provided food for up to 3 local Rock Pipits for weeks now. Preferable to seaweed it seems.

Lackey Moth caterpillars. The adult, pictured below, is a regular to the moth trap.

 

 

There are still plenty of Brown-tail Moth webs on Blackthorn around Orcombe too.

Orcombe

male Redstart - initially on the dung heap before moving down Gore Lane.

Orcombe - 20 Dunlin, 1 Sanderling, 1 Turnstone, 1 Common Sandpiper, 6 Whimbrel, 3 Great Crested Grebe, 5 Little Tern, 2 Wheatear, c15+ Swallow, 1 summer-plumaged Great Northern Diver, 1 Little Egret, c50+ Common Scoter, 1 male Redstart and 110+ Kittiwake on the Straight Point ledges. Lots of Whitethroat back on territories now and a notable increase in Red Admirals.

Five Grey Plover, c10+ Whimbrel, a couple Bar-tailed Godwit and 90+ Dunlin off Mudbank, viewed from the garden this evening

Black Tern

Just when you thought my photos couldn't get worse - an audacious attempt to photograph a Black Tern - that 'smudge' below left of the green buoy.

 

Sea-watch from the raised beach huts (Maer Rocks) - 0545 - 0745 - c20+ Sandwich Tern, 1 Eider (imm male west @ 0604), 9 Great Northern Diver, 2+ Common Gull, 7+ Common Tern, 1 Black Tern (east @ 0630 with 12 'commic' Tern), 2+ Arctic Tern, 9 Common Scoter, 2+ Little Tern, 8 Whimbrel, 1 Great Skua, 2 Black-headed Gull, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Fulmar, 1+ Guillemot and a handful of Kittiwakes and Gannets.

After a cuppa and some breakfast at home, and with the family all still asleep or stirring, I nipped back down for half an hour and recorded a further 14 Common Scoter, 1 Pale-bellied Brent Goose, 3 Dark-bellied Brent Goose and 3 Little Tern.

Finally, a quick check of Sandy Bay at around 3pm, following a pub lunch with the family in Topsham,  produced 13 Common Scoter, 2 Whimbrel, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit and 6 Little Tern feeding together. A count of the Straight Point Kittiwake colony revealed 86 birds and Mudbank late evening produced 77 Turnstone, 20 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Grey Plover, 1 Greenshank and 6 Great Crested Grebe.

Most of the small terns were evidently not visible to birders watching from the sea wall at Dawlish Warren. It's very unusual for this to happen but understandable given the fact that I had them coming along the beach from the direction of the river mouth, close past Maer Rocks and eastwards towards Orcombe Point. For a while there were 3 Common Tern, 1 Arctic Tern and 2 Little Tern lingering very close to the beach, affording views that I very rarely get in Exmouth. Pity the Black Tern didn't linger too.

Yesterday a brief early morning spell on Orcombe produced 2 Whimbrel, 4 Dunlin, 1 wader sp, 1 Great Northern Diver, 1 Common Tern, 90+ Pale-bellied Brent Goose (in 3 flocks), 3 Wheatear and 2 Willow Warbler. A Sedge Warbler singing alongside the coast path was my first this year.

I checked Mudbank on the way home and wasn't too surprised to see the bulk of the Pale-bellied Brent Goose flock (80+ birds) settled. Also 1 Common Tern, 10+ Sandwich Tern, 42 Whimbrel, 23 Bar-tailed Godwit and 1 Common Sandpiper.

 

 

The light was great yesterday with Berry Head seemingly within touching distance.

Too Quiet

Willow Warbler - Orcombe Point

 

Another very quiet week with little time spent looking. Late this afternoon - 6 Wheatear and 4 Willow Warbler on Orcombe Point. Off the seafront at 6am this morning - 4 Great Northern Diver and 3 Great Crested Grebe. Mudbank - just 1 Redshank, c30/40+ Whimbrel and a first-summer Mediterranean Gull.

Yesterday evening - 52+ Pale-bellied Brent Geese on the river late afternoon. Also c50+ Whimbrel and 1 Bar-tailed Godwit. On the 26th - 6 Dunlin, 70+ Whimbrel and 2 Bar-tailed Godwit.

 

 

 

No Hoopoe

No sign of a Hoopoe reported at Lower Halsdon Farm (early morning only) but a look off Mudbank after work produced my first 2 Common Tern of the year, with 25+ Sandwich Tern, 90+ Whimbrel, 2 Dunlin, 1 Ringed Plover and a flock of c70/80+ Pale-bellied Brent Geese that were flushed downriver by a helicopter before I could count them properly.

Moths

Streamer - a beautiful moth with a combination of colours and markings to rival any butterfly.

 

Twenty-one moths of 13 species after a clear cold night last night - 1 Streamer, 1 Brimstone, 1 Angle Shades, 1 Oak-tree Pug, 1 Double-striped Pug, 1 Early Grey, 1 Lunar Marbled Brown, 1 Muslin Moth, 1 Flame Shoulder, 1 Small Quaker, 3 Common Quaker, 4 Shuttle-shaped Dart and 4 Hebrew Character.

Orcombe Point was again quiet with 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 5 Wheatear and a couple Willow Warblers the only evidence that anything at all was moving.

Off Mudbank the Whimbrel count has risen to 80+ but just 3 Greenshank remain. Also 1 Grey Plover, 2 Red-breasted Merganser and 5 Dunlin on a very quick afternoon visit.
This evening there were 115+ Black-headed Gull and 8+ Common Gull off Mudbank - a big increase in recent weeks.

 

Muslin Moth

Lunar Marbled Brown

Oak-tree Pug - big thank you to Lee and Nick for ID.

Angle Shades

Early Grey

Hebrew Character

Flame Shoulder

Shuttle-shaped Dart

 

Small Quaker

 

 

Common Quaker - this small individual was very similar in size to the above Small Quaker.

Whimbrels and White Wag

At least 70 Whimbrel off Mudbank this afternoon. Some showing really well from the viewing screen. Also 5 Greenshank and my first White Wagtail of the spring.

I did Orcombe before breakfast, noting 6 Whitethroat, 4 or 5 Wheatear, 2 Willow Warbler and my fifth Grasshopper Warbler of the spring - a reeling bird in the hedgerow bordering the second orchid field up. Also 15+ Dunlin, 1 Ringed Plover, 4 Whimbrel, 1 Turnstone, 5 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Guillemot and 2 Common Scoter.

 

 

Bee sp - Edit - Common Carder Bee - thanks Nick.